England football fan shot seagull after Lampard 'goal' disallowed

Thomas Philip Cook, a hairdresser, killed the bird during the half time break after watching Frank Lampard's 'goal' being disallowed despite clearly crossing the line - leaving the team trailing 2-1.

The court heard witnesses saw the seagull drop to the ground opposite his salon and the barrel of an air rifle pointing out of the top floor window.

Police were called out and residents were said to be fearful following two fatal shooting incidents in the north of England. Exeter Magistrates' Court heard that Cook, 40, had not slept because seagulls had been making noise on his roof all night.

Lyndsey Baker, prosecuting, said: "He woke up grouchy and tired. In a moment of madness, he saw a seagull on the ledge of the sorting office and shot over the highway."

Cook admitted shooting the seagull and showed police his Air Arms TX200 rifle and pellets. But the court heard he was a good marksman and the bird did not suffer. Cook admitted what he did was wrong but said he had been frustrated by the game, which England eventually lost 4-1.

He said: "If it had been a really good match I wouldn't have done it." He said the bird had been dead before it hit the ground.

"They cause so much damage to vehicles and buildings and the noise is unbearable. But what I did was wrong and I wouldn't do it again," he added.

Cook pleaded guilty to killing a wild bird and was given a six month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 in costs.

Beckham backing Sports Active 2

In what has to be one of the highest profile celebrtity endorsements in the history of video games, EA has revealed England and Manchester United football legend David Beckham as the “brand ambassador” for EA Sports Active 2.

Beckham will feature in advertising and retail material for the title across Europe and Australia.

The game has also been given a concrete release date in the UK and Europe – November 19th. It will be released on Xbox 360 (that version will support Kinect) as well as PS3, WII, iPhone and iPod Touch. The console game will ship with a heart rate monitor.

“EA Sports Active is impressive and includes many elements that I have seen throughout my football career,” David Beckham stated. “I'm excited to collaborate with EA Sports who have a great track record in developing authentic and credible sports products and games over the years.”

EA’s senior VP and GM of European Publishing Jens Uwe Intat added: “David has always worked hard to stay in excellent shape and has inspired people around the world to make fitness a priority.

Nicolas Anelka Slapped with 18-Match Ban by French Football Federation

(WFI) France international forward Nicolas Anelka has been handed an 18-match ban by the French Football Federation (FFF) following his confrontation with national coach Raymond Domenech during France’s World Cup campaign in June.

Anelka was sent home in disgrace by Domenech following the row, but after details of the confrontation were made public the France squad refused to train.

The FFF has also banned captain Patrice Evra for five matches, Franck Ribery for three and Jeremy Toulalan for one for their parts in the revolt.

The charges relate to an extraordinary 72 hours during the second weekend of the World Cup.

On the Thursday, during France’s second Group A game versus Mexico, Anelka was involved in a half time dressing room confrontation with Domenech, who substituted him.

France fell to a 2-0 defeat and the Chelsea forward was sent home in disgrace. But on the Saturday details of Anelka’s foul-mouthed tirade were leaked to L’Equipe, which carried his alleged comment – “F*** you, you dirty son of a bitch" – as its front page headline.

A day after its publication, the France squad refused to train because a member of Domenech’s staff supposedly leaked the story. Fitness coach Robert Duverne and national team director, Jean-Louis Valentin, then quit in disgust.

Although the French players backed down, their World Cup disgrace was completed the following Tuesday when they were comprehensively beaten by South Africa to finish bottom of their group.

On their return to France the squad was subject to parliamentary probe and banned en masse for a single match – last week’s 2-1 defeat to Norway.

New France coach Laurent Blanc last week said that he wanted to move on.

"I did not become a national coach to punish the France team," Blanc said.

"What I'm interested in is to put together the best team with the best players. To get the best results, I must try to have the best team."

But France legend Zinedine Zidane said that the revolt will not be forgotten.

“I think there’s two things we’ll remember from this World Cup,” Zidane told reporters in Johannesburg in June.

”The winner and the fact that the French failed to attend the training session before the encounter with South Africa.”

International Football - Geovanni joins Earthquakes

Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes have agreed to terms with former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Geovanni.

Brazilian Geovanni was with Hull City for the past two Premier League seasons but was released following the club's relegation. His deal with San Jose is subject to international clearance.

Geovanni, who can play in a number of attacking positions, was with Barcelona in Spain and Benfica in Portugal prior to moving to England.

The 30-year-old's deal is as a 'designated player', meaning the bulk of his salary falls outside of the team's salary cap, and he is the first such player for San Jose.

The club said Geovanni has already started training with the club and they expect his first game to be away to the New York Red Bulls on August 28.

Reuters

English Premier League - Fergie proud with Scholes

Alex Ferguson praised Paul Scholes for his commanding display in Manchester United's 3-0 victory over Newcastle United, but went no further than describing his team's performance as "steady".

35 year-old Scholes tormented the Magpies defense during a difficult Premier League return for Chris Hughton's side, and it was he who released Dimitar Berbatov to score the first goal of the night after 33 minutes.

"He showed again that he has marvelous passing range and vision for the game and he's still got that appetite for the game and that's the most important thing," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "When players retain that, like him and Giggs, they are blessed with something special.

"He has looked after himself. Last season was his first full season without injury for a long time. If he can stay fit that's the key for him."

Berbatov himself had another good game for the hosts. Ferguson had described the Bulgarian as "a genius at times" in the wake of last week's Community Shield victory, and today branded the striker's display as "excellent."

A notoriously difficult man to please, however, Ferguson also added that the striker "could have scored three or four."

And despite Manchester United's dominance and the comfortable 3-0 scoreline, Ferguson felt there was plenty more to come from his charges.

"We controlled most of the match," he said. "The passing was good at times. It was a steady performance."

Eurosport / Reuters

Stream up to four live Barclays Premier League matches each week for less than the price of a coffee a week

Want to watch the world's best football in your own time? Foxsports.com.au has you covered, with Fox Sports Premier League on Demand handing you the keys to football heaven.

Sign up for a Premier League on Demand season pass, and you can stream - straight to your PC or Mac - up to four select live matches from each of the 38 rounds of the premiership.

You also get up to five on-demand, 45-minute match reviews from each round to watch at your leisure, with the flexibility to flick between games.

All this for less than the price of a coffee a week if you subscribe to a $79 season pass. We have other subscription options available ... visit www.foxsports.com.au for details.

You can also subscribe for one month, at a cost of $19, or pay $9 for a nine-day pass.
Fox Sports Premier League on Demand will be live from Saturday morning (EST), August 14, so make sure you return to foxsports.com.au for further sign-up information